Church in Italy's 'Triangle of Death' demands cleanup of mafia waste

ROME

ROME Jan 4 Church leaders in southern Italy
have demanded a cleanup of waste dumped illegally by the mafia
in a racket that has polluted farmland and earned the region the
name the "Triangle of Death".

The Camorra mafia has been dumping and burning toxic waste
for decades in the area between Naples and the province of
Caserta.

Ten million tonnes have been buried there in the last 22
years, according to environmentalist group Legambiente, and the
World Health Organisation says that higher congenital
abnormalities and deaths from cancer are "positively correlated"
to waste exposure in the area.

"The environmental disaster... has turned to a real
humanitarian tragedy," the Archbishop of Naples and bishops of
local dioceses wrote in an open letter to President Giorgio
Napolitano on Saturday.

"Too many are paying the price for the arrogance, abuse,
incivility, greed and stupidity of criminals," the letter said,
adding land had been poisoned causing "tragic and irreparable
damage".

Authorities say the waste comes mostly from the industrial
north and is dumped by mafia gangs for a fraction of the cost of
legal disposal.

In recent months protesters have taken to the streets of
Naples to demand the government do more to clean up the region.
Residents have banded together on social media to document the
dumping of waste and burning of trash amid growing fears over
its impact on health.

The government banned the burning of rubbish last month in a
decree aimed at tackling the crisis, but the clergymen's appeal
called for a wider response including a clean up, health
screening, financial support for those affected, and programmes
to persuade businesses not to operate illegally.
(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Rosalind Russell)